Ecobee thermostat not on this morning
 

Anyone else wake up to this treat this morning?

Completely blank screen, phone app can't connect, no breakers are tripped

Called TV Warranty dept and was told that multiple people have called in for this issue this morning

Will update thread once we find out what happened
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A friend had a blank screen on their thermostat when their drain line filled and tripped the switch to stop the compressor. That might be a very quick thing for you to rule out.

That’s what happen to me !
Drain line plugged

I would say 90+% of the time this means a clogged drain and the overflow switch tripped and turned off the system. It's happening now because of all the humid hot weather we have been having.

If you have a shop vac you can duck out the gunk. That is exactly what the service guy will do.

Thanks for the tip - just went out and didn't feel anything in the outside pipe and didn't see anything in the inside (I just did the hot-water down the drain on July 2nd)

House is only a few months old, so while not impossible that it's gunked up - it's kind of unlikely (but thanks for the tips) :beer3:

Sun Kool called - they'll be out this afternoon, so I got that going for me
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Forgot to mention - we must have had a power outage over night - the microwave's clock needed to be reset. Neighbors reporting similar.

We do have the SECO surge protector on our meter...

It also blinked out for a second or two around 8:30am
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If you don't have a clog, it's also possible the overflow switch went bad. I've seen that too.

Just checked the app on my phone, ours is all good. House is 81 degrees (right where I set it before heading up north) and humidity is 58%.

While my house was fine, I saw at two different neighbors houses that after a short power outage the furnace/ecobee did not restart. Although the furnace breakers did not show tripped (ie, "middle" position between on and off), turning the air handler breaker (labeled A/H) off then back on "rebooted" the furnace and everything came back up. Also worth noting that on my new build, the A/C and A/H breakers are labeled backwards, so it wouldn't hurt to try cycling both of them off and back on again.

Same here working fine remotely. As stated above try resetting the breaker on and off before calling someone.

Ditto....

Called Sun Kool at 12:20 yesterday (7/10) and I made the Will-Be-Out-Between-5-and-9PM List. Temp inside the house was 81°.

I tried resetting HVAC breakers and checked all the other breakers in the panel. Nothing wrong. Guy at Sun Kool told me it might be clogged drain line. Not sure how since we closed on new home in March and I have used the 1 cup vinegar every month since we moved in. (I used the same schedule on our home in Orlando with two HVAC units for 15 years and no issues).

I attached wet vac and sucked out about 1.5 gallons of water. No snot or clogs. System came back online but Sun Kool still came out to check it and said everything looks good--must have been a clogged line.

I have seen neighbors' clogged lines in a wet vac before. Lots of slime and snot--maybe a frog or lizard. There was nothing in our exhaust line yesterday.

My wife mentioned numerous other reports on the neighborhood FaceBook page. SK Tech told me I was his third call in Well Point today. Same problem; but no clogged lines.

Seems so odd to happen to so many on a single day. Maybe a batch of bad floats from Carrier? According to the Sun Kool sticker on our HVAC the unit was installed 1/25/25. Anybody else have a similar install date?

I vac mine out every three to four months. Takes five minutes. To be honest it’s a poor design but every one of them in TV is the same. In Stonecrest a couple homes I viewed have the air handler is recessed in the ceiling in the garage . If the filter is up there it might be difficult to change but at least the condensation drain runs downhill. In one home I owned in the Atlanta area the condensation drained into a unit that when it filled a pump ejected it uphill

In The Villages, the condensation does drain downhill. I have never seen a pump used in The Villages. There is also an electronic float switch in the evaporator drain pan which is designed to shut down the HVAC system when the condensation drain is clogged. If you have an HVAC technician perform periodic maintenance, I would suggest that you require the technician to test the float switch for proper operation.

Ecobee
 

Same thing happened to us, we went through a power outage / surge in our area yesterday morning. I called Sun Kool and they said to pull the Ecobee off the wall, let it sit a few minutes then plug it back in, after 20-30 minutes ours went on again, all my neighbors did the same thing and all AC is working.

If your house was built over the last 3? years, you already have a Code required surge protector on your electrical service panel, below the meter. The Ring is/was not needed.

Correct… that happened to me. Once I cleared it everything came back on but it takes about 10 minutes.

My float switch is at the top of the drain line, outside the air handler unit. The float is within clear plastic so I can see if there is any water present.

Are there systems where the float and the switch are within the air handler and not visible? If that was the case then it would be possible that the line outside the house is clear but a plug has formed within the unit where it would not be noticed.

A post above this mentioned no obvious clog but vacuuming the line corrected the issue. If the float was not visible then perhaps there was a clog above the flush-out connection on the drain line. The line would appear clear, flushing would not help, but vacuuming might dislodge the clog and fix the problem.

Thermostat out
 

Your drain line is clogged, overflow switch cut it off.

It happened to me yesterday. I reset both breakers and the thermostat came back on. The A H or air handling breaker is the most important.

My float switch is also located outside of the air handler unit. But the only way to effectively test it is to block the drain line and to add water to the drain pan to see if the switch actually works and shuts down the system. If I were paying a company more than $100 per visit to inspect and maintain my system, I would expect the technician to do this periodically to verify that the float switch actually works.

The Seco surge protector mainly protects you from power surges from the power utility and as such their warranty doesn't cover any devide that has an electronic chip installed. The Type-2 surge protection you are referring to in newly built homes protects you from induced surges from everything else. Unfortunately, these surge protectors are the bare mininum to meet the electrical code. You need both surge protectors and I would also call Lenhart or Pikes electric and have a whole house surge protector installed at the circuit breaker panel and at your HVAC and pool and Spa equipment in addition for the best protection.

If your are careful, to test this switch, open it and you should see a ring or plunger. Move it up and your system should turn off. When you release it, your system will turn back on. Yes, as part of your maintenance the tech tests this overflow switch.

I would just add that none of these surge protector warranties will cover anything that is already covered by your homeowner's insurance. So, the only thing they will ever possibly pay for is your insurance deductible.

Here's an option to keep the drain line clean, especially if you're not around to do the monthly hot water flush.

iFLO | Home

Some microbiology geeking out:. The snot like slime in an HVAC system, is a biofilm (Zoogloea) that forms from a combination of dust, moisture, and microorganisms.

This was not a problem when the coils were copper since that material inhibits microbial growth. Copper is effective at very low concentrations.

Some options for adding copper to a system discussed here:

https://youtu.be/5VOffWjmWkk

Copper sulfate is often used in tablets or crystals placed in the drain pan but they only last a few months.

To avoid opening up the system, 1 oz of copper sulfate (fungicide) can be added to the drain after monthly flushing as a preventative to help deactivate/prevent any remaining mold in the drain line.

https://a.co/d/aGPNbrg

Try turning the circuit breaker off and back on to reset it.

Two points:

1. That will test the electric part, but it will not ensure that water will flow to the switch and activate it.
2. The Sunkool 21-point tune-up says nothing about the float switch. I suspect that some technicians never test the switch.

I’ll have to look again but I don’t think it is a simple process to test mine. I don’t remember a plunger ant it is situated where it would be difficult to flood it.

I do know that it works though, at least at 4am.

After thinking about it while waiting, I had only cycled the AC breaker - went back out and cycled both AC and AH and that did the trick.

Thanks everyone for the help - hope this thread helps someone else in the future

Correct. The insurance they provide is secondary to your homeowners insurance. But you don't buy surge protection to collect on the insurance. You purchase them to avoid having destroyed appliances, devices, TVs, computers, etc, so you don't need to make a claim with your insurance and go through the negotiating process and risk getting a rate increase.

Interesting, we investigated a case where the Villager's dishwasher was destroyed from the surge along with a lot of other stuff but the rest of the appliances were OK. They made the insurance claim only to fine out the refrigerator failed a month later but the insurance case was closed so they lost out. Was the refrigerator electronics effected by the surge or was it coinsidence? We will never know for sure.

Well, if the line is clogged to the float, which is possible, then that's correct. Usually, the line to the float is not clogged and the electronic part fails causing the system to stay On and cause a flood when the condensate drain clogs. I've seen enough of these failures to make this statement.

As far as this check being documented in the tune-up, you have mentioned this before. I would watch what the tech does next time he comes and if he doesn't check this then ask them why. I know it's a pricey call for them to come and fix a clog and clean up the flooded lower plenum when this happens so maybe that's why they don't check. Sunshine checks mine every time they are here doing maintenance.

I would not accept a manual operation of the float switch. First of all, how do you know that the drain pan doesn't have a leak that prevents water from even reaching the float switch? And, how do you know that the water will provide enough buoyancy force to activate the switch. Also, I will bet you a dollar that many technicians do not test the float switch at all when they perform their maintenance routine.

LOL, if there is a hole in the drain pan would that not be seen as going somewhere like the floor? My water drains into a PVC tube with the switch above it and this summer is putting out plenty of water that has to go somewhere and if not outside then backwards up towards the enclosed tube and switch. The pressure should be enough buoyancy force since it has no where else to go. Seems a pretty simple design.

I don't agree. The leak could be at the back of the drain pan or above the bottom surface so that it only leaks when the drain pipe is clogged. In any event, testing the float switch is definitely more definitive if water is used to trip the float switch rather than doing it manually, with no water.

I also think it is important to protect individual appliances. Refrigerator, garage door opener, irrigation controller, for example. Search Amazon for "appliance surge protectors". Air conditioners are being installed with surge protection on the outside disconnect, like the Intermatic AG3000. Also the outside on-demand water heater can be protected. Google "how to surge protect your house". Type 1, 2, and 3 surge protection is easy to accomplish.

Worked for us as well. We just moved into our new TV house a week ago and didn't even know a clogged condensation drain could cause that problem. Saw flashing stove lights meaning loss of power then checked breakers.

None had tripped but re-set the living room breaker. In hindsight, not the right one since it should have been A/C related. That's what powers the thermostat.

Pulled the Ecobee thermostat directly off the wall and re-attached. Solved the problem but a mystery to me what happened. Note the unit is designed to do that easily so don't be afraid to detach if you have an issue.

I hear what you are saying but I've never seen the drain pan leak like you ar saying, not that it can't happen. Maybe it's that vinegar and or bleach some use that eats away at the pan and causes it to leak?

Most of the time when a neighbor calls, it's always the condensate line clogged and the unit either turned off including the blank screen on the thermostat, or the leak sensor failed and there is water everywhere and the lower plenum needs to be pumped out.

But if you feel you need to test the system like you say, knock yourself out. Most are not going to do that.

After reading all these posts, you should never have this issue. I've lived in the Villages for 4 years and never had this problem. What happens if you are a snow bird?

My question is, has anyone had this problem with a whole house surge protector installed such as the Eaton Ultra or the PSP devices?